High Cholesterol Foods That You Should Avoid

If you are one of those individuals who suffer from high cholesterol, one of the best and first ways that you can control your cholesterol levels it is through your diet. The problem is that many people are confused about which foods that they should stay away from and which foods are better for them. The reason being is that there is a difference between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol.

According to most health guidelines dietary cholesterol should not be more than 300 mg a day for a normal healthy person, but if you are one who suffers from high LDL blood cholesterol levels, then you daily intake should not be any more than 200 mg per day.

Cholesterol is defined as a waxy like substance that can be found in animal meat and tissues. It can be found in red meat, eggs, fish, poultry, and dairy products. On the other hand, any type of food that comes from plants is cholesterol free. Such foods include high fat plants such as avocado’s and peanut butter. This is where it is confusing for people because if they consume large amounts of vegetable oil which is 100% food fat, this can raise their blood cholesterol levels by large amounts if it is combined with high cholesterol foods.

The bottom line is that blood LDL cholesterol levels are manipulated by the amount of saturated fat that people consume. There is a direct correlation between the amounts of saturated fat that people eat and the LDL levels in the blood. The rule of thumb is that for every one percent in calories that are gained by eating saturated fat, blood cholesterol levels increase by two percent. On the reverse side every one percent decrease in saturated fat intake will result in a two percent cholesterol level reduction.

What you need to remember is that avoiding high cholesterol foods will decrease the LDL levels. Most people do not realize the impact that reducing saturated fat intake has on these levels. They need to realize that there is more to reducing cholesterol than just eating habits.

One of the reasons why people get confused on why cholesterol levels can increase in the blood stream is the way that many foods are prepared . A good example of this is one of everyone’s favorite breakfast of good old bacon/sausage and eggs. I’m sure you have all heard about how high eggs are in cholesterol , but the reality is that they have a very small impact on blood cholesterol levels . The saturated fat in the sausage and bacon is the culprit that has the largest impact on LDL cholesterol levels.

Deep fried foods are another main contributor when it comes to cholesterol levels. There are many foods that pose no threat to us until they are breaded and fried in hot oil. Foods such as fish and other seafood are considered to be good for us because of the omega-3 fatty acids that they contain, but unfortunately as soon as these foods are deep fried and eaten , the saturated fat raises bad LDL cholesterol and that cancels out any health benefit that the food previously had .

I hope that you found this information useful and if you would like more information on ways to live healthy, then please visit my eating healthy web site where you will find great information to help you live a long and healthy life.